Radio Up, Windows Down
by Bexish
Summary: Before Stars Hollow, Sookie was Sookie St. James, a young woman fresh out of culinary school with a dream of being one of the greats. From episode 3x11, "I Solemnly Swear", this is a look at Sookie's life as a prep cook one summer at The Deerhill Lodge.
1. Sick Of This Town, Sick Of That Boy

A/N: I watched "I Solemnly Swear" on ABC Family the other day and was intrigued by Sookie's summer working in the Berkshires, so here we have it. Sookie in her early 20's, working at a lodge up in Massachusetts for the summer. I love Sookie. The title and chapter titles are from "Dust" by Eli Young Band.

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><p>"Well, I'm leaving." Sookie's voice barely made a dent in the noise from the baseball game on TV. Her boyfriend didn't even look up. "I said, I'M LEAVING," she repeated. Nothing. With a sigh, she walked over to the ratty couch and tapped her boyfriend on the shoulder. "Are you selectively deaf? I've got to go like, now. I thought you could help me get my things in the car."<p>

Her boyfriend nodded vaguely, his attention still on the TV. After the batter struck out, he finally looked up at Sookie. "Did you say you're leaving?"

Sookie threw up her hands in frustration. "Yes, Greg. My new job starts tonight, remember? I'll be there all summer."

Greg blinked at her, obviously not understanding. "What, you'll be home late tonight then? That's cool, you can still come over. I don't work tomorrow."

She really did not have time for this. "I won't be home tonight, or tomorrow night or any night after that. I'll be in Massachusetts." Sookie had explained all this to Greg multiple times, but most of his attention was usually on whatever game was on TV. It was a little disappointing that he didn't share in her excitement. Besides a few internships at restaurants, this was her first real cooking job. Right before graduation she had applied to a million places and by some miracle The Deerhill Lodge in the Berkshires actually wanted to hire her as a prep cook for the summer, room and board included. When they first called she had been a little worried about leaving Greg all summer, but now…

Greg smacked his palm against his forehead. "That's right, I remember now. So you won't be home at all for the next couple of weeks."

"Months," Sookie corrected. "I'll be home after Labor Day."

"Huh," Greg said. "That's a long time. Hey, did you leave any lasagnas or something in my freezer? You know, since you'll be gone and everything?"

That did it. "Greg, I have been waiting on you hand and foot since I graduated last month," Sookie said. "I have my own life! I can't be your personal chef unless you start paying me."

"Hey, I pay you," Greg said suggestively, winking at her. "What I lack in money I make up for in other ways."

Sookie shook her head. "You're a pig. Bye, Greg. I'll see you when I get back." So much for having someone to help load her car. Slamming Greg's door behind her, she crossed the hall to her own apartment. The usually cheerful little place looked bland and sad, since she was sub-letting the place while she was gone and had put almost all of her personal things in storage. Thank God she'd had the foresight to not give Greg a key to her place, though she had a key to his.

Sookie and Greg had been together for two years, ever since she moved out of her parents' house and into the apartment. Her friends insisted that she throw a housewarming party, and one of them invited Greg. At the time, Greg had seemed like the whole package to Sookie. He was attractive and going to college to study business, which seemed like a very respectable career. They'd had a lot of fun at first, but things changed when Greg decided to move into the apartment across from Sookie's six months ago. Before that they had almost always hung out at Sookie's since Greg had roommates, but Sookie suspected the real reason for that was the fact that Greg was a complete slob. Sookie wasn't exactly a neat freak herself, but it was almost too much to bear. And then there was the fact that Greg still worked at Taco Bell. Sookie was hardly a snob and hadn't expected him to immediately get a high-paying career after he graduated, but the fact that he didn't even attempt to find a better job was a little too much for her. Plus, he actually _liked _the food at Taco Bell.

It took her four trips, but finally Sookie got her car loaded herself. Even thought it had been annoying, she actually felt a little bit accomplished. On her final trip downstairs, she shoved Greg's spare key in the crack under his apartment door. "So long, Greg," she said firmly. She didn't actually expect him to grasp the subtleties of such a break up, but he would probably get the message sooner or later when he realized she hadn't called or written to him all summer.

Sookie rolled down the windows as she drove away, letting the warm almost-summer breeze blow her hair around. She had a good feeling about this new job. She wasn't the most experienced chef out there, sure, but she dice an onion quicker than anyone she had graduated with and could throw together a roast turkey with all the sides in her sleep. Maybe this gig at The Deerhill would lead to a more permanent job. Maybe she could start over somewhere new.


	2. Dreams That Never Take Flight

When she pulled up to The Deerhill Lodge a few hours later, Sookie actually gasped. When she had gone for her interview she had been instructed to pull up behind the lodge and go right into the kitchen through the back, so she had missed seeing the place in all its glory. The sprawling main building looked like a mansion constructed Lincoln log-style, and there were a handful of cabins scattered around. Even the sandy path down to the lake seemed to gleam, like someone had tossed a bunch of glitter in with the dirt. Growing up without a lot of money, Sookie had never been to a place like this before. For a second, she almost forgot she was there to work.

Once she stopped gaping, she walked in the main building, which was equally as rustic and impressive as the outside. "Hi, I'm Sookie St. James," she said to the woman working at the front desk. "I'm looking for Mr. Wilder. I'm going to be working in the kitchen. I'm a prep cook." She smiled, but the woman didn't smile back.

"Right. You and half a dozen others. You'll be staying in cabin four," she said, sliding a key across the desk at Sookie. "Feel free to get settled in and look around. Mr. Wilder will be out later to fill you in on dinner tonight. Welcome to The Deerhill." As if on cue, the phone rang and the woman turned to answer it, completely shutting Sookie out.

Sookie sincerely hoped the people she would be working with would be nicer. She wanted to go back and peek in the kitchen just to get the lay of the land, but she didn't think that's what the receptionist meant when she said to look around. Instead she headed back outside and made her way to the row of cabins. They were smaller than they had looked when she was driving up, but they seemed cozy. A couple of the cabins looked like they had people inside, but Cabin Four was dark when she unlocked the door. If she had any roommates for the summer, they weren't around. Sookie set her things on the bed farthest from the door, leaving the other two up for grabs if anyone else showed up. At least she would have a dresser all to herself. She would need the extra storage space, since there was absolutely none in the miniscule bathroom at the back of the cabin. She had gotten used to living alone and her own bathroom was usually a cluttered mess. Sookie hoped her future roommates would be okay with her dresser being a war zone, because she knew it would end up like that.

After she unpacked her clothes, Sookie was at a loss for what to do. It was still early in the afternoon so she assumed the kitchen wouldn't be serving dinner for a couple of hours, but she wasn't sure how early the prep started. She didn't want to go too far from her cabin in case the boss came around, but she didn't exactly want to sit on her bed alone, either. Luckily, after ten minutes of hemming and hawing, her decision was make for her.

"Oh!" a girl said in surprise, pushing the cabin door open. "Sorry, I didn't expect anyone else to be here yet. I thought I was here really early. What time is it?"

"A little after two," Sookie said, watching the girl set her things on the first bed. Sookie appreciated that she left a buffer between the two of them. Sookie had never shared a bedroom with anyone before and wasn't sure what the protocol there was.

This girl seemed like an old pro, though. She immediately flipped open a suitcase and carried stacks of clothes over to her dresser, placing them in different drawers. She wasn't sure, but Sookie thought they might have been color-coordinated. "Oh damn, really? The clock in my car is broken. I thought it was still like noon. Guess I'll have to get a new watch." She held up her bare wrist. It looked about as big around as the handle of Sookie's chef knife. "I dropped mine in a mixer last week. Complete freak accident."

Sookie nodded, a little overwhelmed. This girl couldn't have been more than 5'2" and probably weighed about the same as a bag of flour, but she talked a mile a minute and moved around the room with impressive agility. "I'm no stranger to freak accidents," she said, rubbing her thumb over a scar on the back of her hand. Stupid cheese graters. "So, is this your first time working here?"

To her surprise, her roommate nodded. "Yup. I've got a job at a restaurant in Cambridge, but they're closing for the summer to remodel, so I had to find something else and this seemed perfect. Is it your first time too?"

"Same here," Sookie said. "Well, I don't have another job right now. I just graduated from school last month so finding something so soon was a dream come true." The idea of sitting around all summer waiting for a job offer was terrifying. Greg had offered to get her a job at Taco Bell, but that was even scarier than not having a job.

"I've heard great things about this place," her roommate offered. "If you do well here, I'm sure that'll help you get a job somewhere else. Are you on prep?" Sookie nodded. "Me too. It kind of blows but hey, you've gotta start somewhere. What's your name, anyway? I'm Heather."

"Sookie St. James," she said, feeling a little winded by Heather's breakneck conversational style. If she did everything as quickly as she talked, maybe that would help them out in the kitchen. Assuming Sookie didn't fall behind.

Heather didn't seem at all put off by Sookie's relative quietness. "Sookie? That's different. Is it Asian?"

Sookie reached up and touched her red pigtails. "I don't think so," she said. She wondered if Heather had just spoke without thinking, or if she actually thought Sookie could be Asian. She looked about as Asian as Heather did, with her blue eyes and blonde hair.

Through the window, Sookie could see a car pulling up in front of the cabins. "Dude!" a guy called out the window, waving to someone Sookie couldn't see. Heather caught Sookie's eye and grinned. "It looks like we've got neighbors. Should we go meet our new friends?"

Heather stepped out of the cabin before Sookie could respond. Figuring it would be better to mingle than to sit in her cabin alone, Sookie followed her. A group of guys had formed outside the cabin next to theirs. Cautiously, she walked up to them with Heather. "Hey," she said, figuring she should just go for it instead of standing around awkwardly. "I'm Sookie."


	3. More Than The Same Old Story

As soon as Sookie introduced herself the conversation between the guys stopped. She cleared her throat awkwardly, worried she had interrupted. In school she'd had her group of friends and they had gone out and done all the typical group activities, but beyond them Sookie was actually pretty shy. She wasn't one to jump outside of her comfort zone, at least not outside of the kitchen. All of her friends swore that she was super sweet and fun to be around, but making new friends didn't come naturally to her. Thankfully, her new roommate saved the day. "And I'm Heather," she said. "We're staying in cabin four."

One of the guys nodded at them. "Bung," he said.

"Excuse me?"

"It's what the other guys called me," Bung clarified. "My real name is Rob, but I don't think any of them actually remember that. I go home at the end of the summer and forget to respond to 'Rob' for a month."

One of the other guys snickered. "'Rob'. Such a big shot."

Bung punched him in the arm. "It's my name, dude. I didn't pick it." He rolled his eyes good-naturedly at the girls. "This brain trust is Feldman. He worked here with me last summer."

"I bake!" Feldman added. "You ladies want some bread? A croissant? Baguette?"

"Ignore him," Bung instructed. "He's probably stoned already. Fitting, huh?"

Heather laughed. "He bakes and he's baked. Very clever. Sookie and I are just prep cooks."

Sookie blushed, embarrassed that Bung's joke went over her head. She did not want to be less clever than someone called Bung. Luckily, he wasn't paying any attention to her. He was looking straight at Heather, and obviously liked what he saw. "Hey, prep cooks are important, too. Our other roommate is a prep cook too. New guy. Yo, Joe!" he called, looking at cabin five. "Come meet the new girls!"

At least one of her co-workers had a normal name. He looked pretty normal, too, with brown hair and a medium build. Generic, non-descript. Sookie wouldn't have looked twice at him on the street. As he walked over though, she was intrigued. He had a kind of spring in his step, like he was ready to tackle this new adventure head on. "I'm Joe Mastoni," he said, waving at the group. "I prefer that to 'New Guy'."

"That's so boring, though," Feldman said. "We'll have to get you a nickname. Like Melon."

Joe grimaced. "You're going to call me Melon?"

Bung shook his head. "No, there's another guy here named Melon. I think his real name is actually Mike." He looked at Feldman for confirmation, but Feldman just shrugged.

"Beats me, man. I've never called him anything but Melon. That's what you get for messing around with a cantaloupe."

Sookie didn't even want to know what he meant by that. "So we're the only new people?" she asked, gesturing to Joe and Heather.

"I think so," Bung said. Sookie was kind of relieved, in a way. She had pictured being thrown in with a dozen new people who didn't know the lay of the land. If there were only a few of them, they would probably learn their way around a lot faster. It helped that there were a few veterans around, even if none of them were prep cooks. After four years of culinary school, Sookie was pretty sure she would have the actual prep work down. It was just a matter of getting to know the kitchen and the staff.

"There are a few other prep cooks that are here year-round," Feldman said. "You guys will be in good hands. Just don't touch my yeast."

"Will do," Joe said, smiling at Sookie. She was flattered that he was actually paying attention to her, instead of drooling over Heather like the other guys were. Sure, Heather was tiny and blonde, but she wasn't _that _interesting. Even if everyone else wanted to be best buddies with Heather, maybe Sookie would have Joe to hang out with.

Bung looked at his watch. "Wilder won't be around for about an hour," he said. "Dinner starts at six, so we've got to be in the kitchen by four but he'll probably take us over there early since it's the first day. What do you guys say, you up for cards?"

The only cards Sookie was familiar with were gift cards, but she didn't want to admit that. "I'll watch," she said. Heather nodded in agreement.

"I don't really know many card games," she said. "It's always fun to watch, though."

Sookie definitely didn't believe that, but she followed the guys into their cabin anyway. It took approximately thirty seconds for Feldman to trash the room digging around his suitcase for a deck of cards. "Got it!" he said. "What do you say, Texas Hold 'Em?"

Bung high fived him like he had made a brilliant suggestion. "Perfect. You in, New Guy?"

"They're new too," Joe pointed out, looking over at Sookie and Heather.

"But they're not guys," Feldman said, like Joe was the one who had said something supremely dumb. "I'm not gonna call a chick New Guy."

Joe shrugged. "Fair enough. Deal me in."

Sookie watched as Bung passed out the cards and the game began, although she had no idea what was going on. She thought it was some kind of poker, but she was pretty sure the last time she played cards it was Go Fish. Heather was watching too, but she was fidgeting. "Isn't he so cute?" she whispered to Sookie, looking at the guys intently.

Truthfully, Sookie would not have qualified any of the guys as "so cute". Joe and Bung were pretty average looking, and Feldman had shoulder-length blond hair which she was really not into. "Which one?" she asked, mentally betting that Heather would pick Joe.

"Feldman, duh!" Heather exclaimed quietly. "Don't you just want to run your fingers through his hair?"

Sookie watched as Feldman brushed a piece of limp, slightly greasy hair off his face. "I'll leave you to it," she said.

Heather shook her head in astonishment. "You're crazy," she said.

She might have been crazy, but at that moment Sookie was pretty happy, too. She had no idea what the work would be like, but at least she was working with a pretty good group of people. They might have been a little out there, but they seemed fun. She could use a little fun.


	4. Gonna Turn A Page Tonight

A/N: This chapter made me want McDonald's.

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><p>"You're on potatoes."<p>

Sookie eyed the bags of fingerling potatoes that sat on one of the prep counters. "You want me to cut them?" she guessed. Potatoes were the most versatile food in the world. She could have done a million things with them.

Luckily, Mr. Wilder nodded. His white blonde hair did not move when his head did thanks to a truly unfortunate amount of gel. When Sookie had first met him she thought he was only a few years older than her, but up close he looked decidedly middle aged. "We're doing pot roast tonight. Cut them into wedges and then give them to Keith." He pointed to a man standing at a stove across the room.

"Okay," Sookie said, looking at a clock on the wall. She had hours of her shift left and cutting potatoes was not a particularly difficult job. "What should I do when I finish the potatoes?"

Mr. Wilder gave her an amused look. "Let's just focus on the potatoes for now, shall we?" With that, he moved on to Heather, who was in charge of cutting up carrots. Suppressing a sigh, Sookie grabbed a handful of potatoes and set them on her cutting board. She knew that being a prep cook mostly involved cutting up things and all the little jobs the actual chefs were too busy to handle, but cutting up potatoes into wedges? That was the kind of task that took twenty minutes, tops.

At least, it usually did. This time, it seemed like every time she finished cutting up a batch another one appeared. After cutting up approximately a hundred billion potatoes, Joe joined her and grabbed a few potatoes for himself. "Apparently the Brussel sprouts are not as in demand as potatoes are tonight," he said, slicing a potato into wedges with impressive precision. "And Jack the Brussel Sprout Guy acts a lot like a Brussel sprout, so you know."

Sookie laughed, nearly catching her fingertip with her knife. Hopefully Joe hadn't noticed. "What does a Brussel sprout act like?" she asked.

"Bitter and unpleasant," Joe said, looking over at him with a frown.

Jack looked like a normal guy to Sookie, but then it was hard to tell by just seeing the back of his head. "If you think Brussel sprouts are unpleasant then you've obviously never had my Brussel sprouts," Sookie said. "They're the best Brussel sprouts ever. I start by sautéing them in homemade garlic butter."

"Hey, I've given Brussel sprouts many chances over the years and they have never been anything but gross," Joe said. "I'll stick with less gross vegetables."

"How old are you, six?" Sookie said genially. "What chef calls something gross?"

"A realistic one," Joe countered. "Come on, there have to be foods out there that you don't like."

Sookie rolled a potato toward Joe and he caught it with the tip of his knife. "Of course there are," she said. "But I would come up with a much more sophisticated description than 'gross'."

Joe smirked. "Okay, then. What food do you not like?"

She thought for a minute. "Little Caesar's pizza," Sookie said. Since it was usually one of the cheaper takeout options, her parents often picked up a pizza or two on Friday nights after they got out of work. Sookie ate it, but it was not a shining example of good pizza.

"Okay, now why don't you like it?" Joe asked. "And you can't say it's because it's gross, even though you've got a point."

"It's greasy," Sookie said immediately. "The sauce is bland, the cheese is rubbery and the pepperoni doesn't seem like it actually comes from an animal. And the crust is never cooked right. It's always either doughy or almost crunchy, which is unpleasant." All in all, it was pretty, well, gross. Not that she would say that to Joe.

"I think you've turned me off pizza for the next few days," Joe joked. "You're completely right though. And very sophisticated."

Sookie grinned, feeling vindicated. "Thank you," she said. "Okay, I have an even better question for you. What's one food that you probably shouldn't like, but do anyway?"

Joe didn't even hesitate. "Pizza rolls," he said. "Pepperoni, dipped in ranch dressing."

"That's even worse than Little Caesar's!" Sookie crowed. She could remember the last time she'd had pizza rolls, although she did remember liking them okay as a kid. Dipped in ranch dressing, though? She'd never tried that one.

He pursed his lips at her, although ti looked like he was fighting a smile. "You can't judge me until you share your secrets," Joe said. "What's your shameful food secret?"

"Okay," Sookie said with a sigh. "I guess I can tell you. Every now and then, I like to get a McChicken. With fries," she added quietly, blushing a little bit. McDonald's was about as low on the culinary totem pole as you could get, but damn could those guys salt a French fry.

"I like the Filet O' Fish," Heather admitted from the other prep table. "I should be disgusted by cheese on fish, but…" She shrugged. "Sometimes it just feels right."

"Exactly," Sookie said, smiling at her roommate. She didn't like the Filet O' Fish herself but it was hardly worse than eating a McChicken. Just thinking about them made her stomach growl. "I'm starving," Sookie said, looking longingly at the uncooked potatoes in front of her. "You know what isn't helping? The smell of all this food."

Joe nodded in agreement. "I would almost settle for eating at McDonald's," he said.

Sookie rolled her eyes and pushed his arm, being careful to avoid the knife he was holding. "It's not a regular thing," she said. "Did you see any places to eat around here on the drive up?"

Before Joe could answer, Bung interrupted them from across the kitchen. "Forget about dinner," he said. "We have to initiate you guys. After work we're going out."


End file.
